The New Recipe for Dysfunction
by writinsinmysoul
Summary: The Sequal to Functional Dysfunction! I know you have been waiting for it and I hope it does not dissapoint!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I have no rights, whatsoever, to Degrassi the Next Generation or any of its characters. I am merely borrowing them as pawns for this small extension of my imagination.**

**A/N: Well I'm back! I know we have all been waiting for the sequel to Functional Dysfunction with baited breath and I am so sorry it took me so long. I just wanted to make sure that this lives up to the first story. This sequel brings us to a little more than 6 years in the future of our last story and Ellie is finally going back to school! Of course the drama will be intense, especially with Emma coming back into the picture. Jay and Alex finally have their own house and well… that's all you get I don't want to take away from the fun of reading!**

"Ma, I can't find my math homework." A nine year old Mykel said as she shuffled through the many papers in the Cameron kitchen.

"Kelly I told you about leaving your papers out here; you are just risking your father throwing them away. You should know how he is by now sweetie." Ellie said as she handed her daughter the assignment. "You might want to go over your answers for 7 and 12 again."

"Thanks ma!" Mykel said as she grabbed her paper and ran off.

"Hey we're home." Sean called out while their four year old daughter, Shawna, ran to Ellie happily.

"Hey baby," Ellie said as she happily picked up her daughter. "Did you, daddy, and Mikey have a good time today?"

"Yeah, we went to the movies, and the park, and the store, and Daddy bought us toys! All cuz we were good at the doctors!" Sean laughed as he winked at Ellie while carrying their passed out two year old son in on his shoulder.

"Wow, Daddy was very good to you two today." Ellie said as she ran her fingers through her daughter's dirty blonde hair.

"Ya huh, we had so much fun. I want to go to the doctor's every day." Sean shook his head as he placed his son down across the bench in their kitchen.

"Well, school is fun too Shawna." Sean said as his daughter rolled her eyes. She hated school even though she technically was very bright, just like him at that age. "Maybe if it's ok with Mommy, Kelly, Alex and Mikey, we can have a family fun day soon." Sean said as his daughter jumped up and down happily. He and Ellie couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

If you would have told either of them ten years ago, hell, six years ago that they would be the parents of four children, and further more enjoy it; they would have thought you were on hallucinogens. All of their children were special and unique and luckily for Sean on the fourth try he finally got a boy. Life was going very well for the family. Ellie's book _Functional Dysfunction_ was a success. She followed it up with a second novel three years later. Sean and Jay had used some of Ellie's book advancement to open their own Garage and it was extremely successful. Now that Mikey was two Ellie and Sean decided it was a good time for her to finally go back to school. She still had a dream of a higher education, and she was going to achieve it.

"Why don't you go on upstairs and play with your sister until dinner is ready." Ellie couldn't help but smile at Shawna's excitement at the mention of her sister, and before she knew it her daughter's little feet were off up the steps.

"How was school today?" Sean said as he looked through the huge stack of mail on the buffet table.

"Long, tiring, and redundant." Ellie said as she stood up and wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Careful," Sean smiled. "Every time you get frisky we seem to create a child."

"What, you know you tried and wanted it just as much as me." Ellie laughed. "Lexie is at Alex and Jay's house tonight, hanging with her cousins. The girls can occupy each other, and Mikey is knocked out from today. We have time." Ellie said as she began to kiss Sean's neck.

"Well when you put it like that." He smiled seductively as he turned around and pulled Ellie into a deep kiss.

Ding Dong

"Ignore it." Sean said as he kissed Ellie deeper.

Ding Dong

"That's probably Aunt Alex and Uncle Jay… EW you're kissing." Mykel said as she ran down the steps.

"I thought Lexie was staying over there tonight." Ellie said as she broke the kiss from Sean.

"No they called earlier and said they wanted to have fun tonight or something. Taryn and Amy are going to Aunt Lib's house tonight." Mykel said as she pulled the curtain back to peek out the window for her sister and extended family.

"Fun tonight," Sean smirked as he squeezed Ellie's hand. "Wait until I see him at work tomorrow." Sean said as he and Ellie went into the living room after their daughter. "Well what are you waiting for, munchkin, aren't you going to let them in?" Sean asked observing his daughter's strange behavior.

"It's not them. It's some blonde lady, and she is walking back and forth on the porch." Sean and Ellie looked at each other confused as Sean peeked out the curtain before gasping in a huge breath of air.

"Sean who is it?" Ellie asked trying to peak and see.

"You won't believe this," he said out loud as he pulled open the door. The blonde stopped pacing and looked up at him nervously.

"Hi, I'm looking for Sean Cameron." The woman on the other side of the door said as politely as she could.

"Emma? What are you doing here?" Sean said as he pulled her into a hug, despite the confused look he was receiving from his daughter, and the evil look he was getting from Ellie.

"Oh Sean I am so glad I found you. I know it's been a long time." Emma laughed nervously.

"Well, Emma why don't you come in from the cold." Ellie tried to say sweetly.

"Oh Ellie, it is so good to see you." Emma said as she entered the house and pulled Ellie into her embrace.

"Yes well... Kelly will you hang up Emma's coat sweetie." Ellie said as she pulled from the hug uncomfortably. She was still in shock that this woman that she hated so much was standing in her home.

"Thank you Kelly." Emma said as she took a moment to observe her surroundings. Sean and Ellie's home was filled with everything that represented them from art to car parts, and several stray toys that Emma hoped belonged to the red headed girl who was also present in the room with them.

"Emma, it's been so long." Sean said still in disbelief. "We haven't seen you in almost ten years. Man Ellie, when did we see Emma last?"

"Oh you remember, a little after we got _married_, we were out with Kelly and we ran into Emma at the fall festival." Ellie said with emphasis as they all sat down in the living room.

"Right," Sean laughed. "Emma was trying to stop the festival because it was destroying the animals' ecosystem or something like that." Emma rolled her eyes as she began change the subject.

"Well many things change over the years Sean, like your daughter, I can't believe how big she's gotten." Emma gushed. "How old is she now Ellie?"

"I'm nine, almost ten." Mykel said with a slight attitude. "I mean, I am standing right here." Emma just laughed even though Sean threw his daughter a look. "Call us when dinner is ready Ma." Mykel said as she went back through the kitchen and up the stairs, grabbing her sleeping brother from the bench in the kitchen on the way.

"Us?" Emma asked curiously. Just how many children could Sean and Ellie have?

"Yes, Kelly is our first." Ellie said proudly. "After her is Alexandra, she's six. Then there's our little Shawna, she's four and looks and acts just like Sean, hence the name." Sean and Ellie laughed, Shawna really was her father's carbon copy, even down to her love for cars.

"It only took four tries, even though I love my girls more than anything in the world but the youngest is my little man, Jason Michael, even though we call him Mikey since Jay and Alex are practically an aunt and uncle to the kids."

"Wow," Emma said as she fiddled through her purse. "Haven't you two ever heard of birth control? I mean you're what 31, and you have four children already." Emma breathed a sigh of relief as she triumphantly pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her purse, the necessary treat she had been searching for.

"Now I'm offended." Ellie said as she looked at Emma coldly. "We don't regret any of our children, we love them and we love _each other_." Ellie said placing an emphasis on each other. We are doing great financially, and if we want to have twelve children it's not really any of your business." Ellie said as she stood. "I need to go check on dinner." She darted her eyes to Sean as if telling him to get rid of Emma before walking away. "And don't even think about smoking that in our house."

"Emma, what was that all about?" Sean scolded. "That's not like you to say something so rude." Sean looked at Emma as her eyes began to well up. She looked so thin and helpless. What had she been going through these past few years?

"Sean, I am sorry. I guess I was a little jealous is all. You are living a wonderful life and I—I don't have anywhere to go. I've been doing badly lately Sean, and Snake won't let me back in the house. I don't understand why my mom doesn't stand up to him anymore but I have nowhere to go."

"Whoa," Sean said as realization splashed at him. "Let me get this straight you want Ellie and me to let you stay here with us."

"It wouldn't be permanent or anything, just a couple of weeks until I can find a job and get myself together. I'm thinking about maybe moving to the States to live with Manny but that is a last resort. You all are my last hopes for Toronto." Emma was now begging; she knew that Ellie hated her, and she also knew that she shared a past with Sean. She also knew that if Ellie knew the extent of the things that she and Sean shared that she would try to kill her. It was a risk that she was willing to take and a miracle that she was hoping Sean could pull off.

"I doubt that Ellie will agree Emma." Are you sure that we are the only people you have left to turn too.

"Sean I haven't contacted you in ten years, would I have gone out of my way to find you if I wasn't desperate." Emma said raising her voice slightly.

"That's exactly why we don't have any reason to help you. You better listen to Sean and go back and beg your parents,"Ellie said as she entered the living room making it obvious that she had been listening to their conversation. She smiled at Sean before kissing his cheek. "Dinner is ready baby." Sean smiled as he stood up and gave Ellie a kiss. Emma, uncomfortable by their display of affection, decided to invite herself to dinner by walking into the dining room. "Why is she going into my dining room Sean?" Ellie asked as they broke from their kiss.

"Just for a couple of day's baby," Sean pleaded. "I know you heard the entire conversation."

"No Sean I don't trust her and neither should you. _She_ had you thrown in jail or did you forget about that."

"One of the many experiences that helped to sell books babe," Sean smiled. "I know how much you hate her, two weeks and then I'll have Manny come get her."

"No Sean, I just don't buy that she randomly searches for us and has nobody else to help her. I don't buy it. No Sean, No."

"Ellie, there are people who have been a part of your life, that shall remain nameless, who almost killed our daughter and almost destroyed our relationship. I can almost guarantee that Emma will not do either of those things in two weeks. "Sean said in an attempt to put his foot down. Ellie hated when Sean threw the Craig situation in her face. She still didn't trust Emma, or the circumstances, but she felt because of Craig she in a way owed Sean.

"Two weeks and that is it. She stays away from you when I'm not around and she stays out of this house if I'm not here."

"Fine by me," Sean smiled. "I know how hard this is for you and I promise to make it up to you tonight." Sean whispered causing Ellie's pale skin to turn almost as bright as her hair.

"Kids, it's time for dinner!" Ellie called quickly. She loved Sean so much, and her family. She would be damned if Emma Nelson would rob her of everything she had and deserved.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I have no rights whatsoever, to Degrassi the Next Generation, or any of its characters. I am merely borrowing them as pawns for this small extension of my imagination.**

She sighed as she took in more of the new surroundings. The furniture in the dining room was very vintage and photos of old Hollywood actors like Fred Astaire, Marilyn Monroe, and Shirley Temple, adorned the walls. She took a sip of her drink and sighed, just as she had expected dinner at the Cameron house was utter chaos, at least in Emma's eyes. She cringed as she watched the youngest daughter blow bubbles in her milk and laugh, and felt complete jealousy as she watched Ellie bond with her oldest daughter. They would laugh and joke like friends while Ellie would throw love eyes to Sean at the other end of the table, the same Sean who would smile like he was getting attention from his grade school crush, then go back to watching the hockey game that was playing on the TV that they had so tackily sitting in their vintage style dining room. Meanwhile the small two year old boy seemed to be the only one who even realized Emma was present for dinner that evening. The same small two year old who would smile at her and then stick his fingers back into his dinner when Sean, who was supposed to be feeding him, wasn't watching. Somewhere between the fifth outburst of Sean from the game, and the twenty-fifth, oh my god mom do you really think so, Emma decided to make her presence known.

"I have to say Ellie, this macaroni and cheese is amazing." Emma said as she attempted to fit in at the dinner table that evening. "I wish I ate meat, I'm sure the rest is good too." Ellie just looked at Emma before continuing to talk to her daughter.

"Whoa, little man." Sean said as he finally noticed that Mikey had been diving his hands into his plate. "This is why we feed you," Sean laughed as he took the plate away and cleaned his son's hands off.

"No it's ok, he is at that stage in his development," Emma started. "According to Erickson, a two year old is at the crisis of _Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt_. If you correct Mikey every time he tries to do something on his own he could develop a complex and become doubtful about everything he does."

"Wow, I never knew that." Sean said as he placed Mikey's plate of noodles back in front of him as he considered letting him continue to play with it.

"Sean, if you let Mikey make a mess, you will be experiencing more than a doubt complex," Ellie said as she got up to get some more vegetables and chicken from the kitchen.

"Who the hell does Emma think she is," Ellie said to herself as she filled some more broccoli into a serving bowl. "I can't believe I agreed to let her stay in my house for two weeks. What in the hell was I thinking. I don't want her around my children. I definitely don't want her around Sean, and I don't want her around me." Ellie took a minute to try and collect herself. She always knew it was bad when she was talking to herself out loud. She was so lost in her zone that she didn't even hear Jay, Alex, and her daughter, Alexandra come in through the kitchen door.

"Hey mama," Alexandra said as she walked over and put her black and purple puffy coat on her little hook.

"Oh, hey sweetie,"Ellie said as she picked up her six year old. Jay nudged at Alex knowingly as he quickly kissed her and exited towards the dining room to find the kids and Sean.

"What's up with you El? You didn't answer when we knocked, your door was unlocked, and we find you in here spacing while everyone else is eating dinner." Alex asked as she walked over. Obviously something was wrong. Ellie only spaced when something was wrong. Not to mention she had cooked way too much dinner, and everyone who knew her, knew that Ellie always cooked too much when she was stressed.

"Well we had an unexpected visitor today. It's really been bothering me." Ellie said as she kissed her daughter not wanting to let her go.

"Oh yea, so why let them even visit. Who is it?" Alex said as she grabbed a fork and ate some of the macaroni from the casserole dish.

"Ok, why the hell is Green Peace sitting in your dining room?" Jay said after walking through the kitchen door and back again. "I mean this completely when I say this, in a million years I would never have expected to see that shit."

"Emma!" Alex said in shock almost choking. "You let Emma, in your house, and you are letting her eat _dinner_ with you." Alex looked at Ellie like she was going to slap her. "Emma… and you left her out there with _Sean_, unsupervised."

"Don't start." Was all Ellie could get out as she put her daughter down and gave her a plate to join the dining room with the other. "Go get your daddy to put your dinner on your plate ok baby." Ellie said as she kissed her daughter on the top of the head before letting her run off.

"What's wrong with you Ellie, I mean have you lost your mind," Alex began to lecture but was quickly cut off by Ellie.

"Just drop it Alex; I hate her, you know I hate just as much, if not more than you do. It's only for a few days. Believe me when I tell you that Sean and I will be calling around so that she can get out of our house as quickly as possible."

"Shouldn't she should be doing that. Green Peace is up to no good. Conveniently, when she needs help she comes back to Sean. I mean she looks like one of those druggie prostitutes that we make fun of." Jay said as he fixed himself a plate. "I thought you of all people would be smart enough to see that. I know you think you own Sean because of Craig El, but this is just stupid."

"You know what Jay-"

"Don't even worry about it Ellie, I'm gonna make sure the little Bitch understands her boundaries." Alex said as she headed into the dining room.

"That… that right there is why I married her." Jay laughed. "I love when she get all angry protective." Jay smirked as he raised his eyebrow and headed into the dining room for the show.

"All I want is a normal family dinner," Ellie said as she looked up at the sky. "We had been doing well, very little drama." Ellie took a deep breath as she went back towards the dining room. "I guess this is our IOU."

"Alex, really…" Sean said annoyed as Ellie walked back into the dining room.

"I just want to know why she just decided to randomly come to your house Sean, since you _love_ your wife more than anything. I just want to know why of all the people from Degrassi she picked you and Ellie to find, since you and your _wife Ellie_, have been through so much. I just want to know why she wants to step in since you love your _children _more than life, since your life is just so _peachy_. I just want to know why _Green Peace_ is trying to shake it up."

"Kelly why don't you take your brother," Ellie said as her oldest daughter picked up her brother and nodded. "Hey Shawna, Lexie, why don't you girls go wait for us in the family room and watch some cartoons," Ellie said as she walk over and stood beside Sean. "We'll roast some marshmallows and make smores by the fireplace tonight ok." Her daughters nodded happily as they got up and neatly stacked their dishes on the corner of the table before running off into the den.

"I'm glad the kids are out of the room," Emma said. Now I can tell you how I really feel about you Alex.

"That's strike two Emma," Ellie said. "I swear if you say one more offensive thing about anyone else in my family you will be on the streets."

"Oh no Ellie, please let her say what she has to say, so I can beat the hell out of her again just like I did in high school." Alex said as she leaned forward in her seat tauntingly.

"Look, I don't want to offend you guys, or break up anyone's marriage, that's not my style." Emma said as she stood up. "I am desperate; I was living with my husband Damien for the past three years. The first year was amazing, and then his whole personality changed. He started talking down to me, calling me ugly, and telling me that I was fat. He… " Emma started as the tears began to fall. "He …I tried to blame it on the drugs but… he hit me."

"He hit you!" Sean said as he stood up angrily and looked to Jay. Ellie wrapped her arms around him to comfort him. He didn't care who it was, Sean never stood for men beating up on women.

"He hit me all the time the last two years. A few weeks ago he beat me up so bad that I thought he was going to kill me." Ellie looked at her husband and friends in shock. Now that she was bringing it up Ellie finally noticed the purple bruise on Emma's thin wrist that was peeking from under her shirt, and the cut that was hiding under the dark lipstick she was wearing. She couldn't even imagine how many more cuts and bruises were under the outfit, or the rest of the make-up. "I had to get out of there. I have nothing; my family hated him so they won't talk to me. Manny is so far away. I am lost without him but I just couldn't stand to be there anymore." With that Emma crumbled to the ground and let the tears overtake her body, and for once leaving the four friends in the room speechless.

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I was nervous about this story. I am glad to know that people are enjoying it so far. Thanks again, reviews always get my creative juices going!**


End file.
